A guide to a successful short film

1. How not to make a short film
A step by step guide of how to make
a short film more effective

2. 1. Don’t make it too long
The Shorter the Better
A short film can be anything from a number of minutes to forty five
minutes in length. Make your short film script as short as possible
because the shorter the film, the less costly it will be to produce. It has
to be cheap but shouldn’t look cheap. Plus, if you want to get your
short into a festival, then keep it to no more than ten minutes, which
is usually 7-8 pages maximum. Why? Because if your short film is
longer, it will eat up a longer slot and festivals love to play as many
shorts as possible! You can also create real emotion in just a few
minutes. It is also a great idea to question your target audience for
example when we presented a questionnaire to our chosen viewers
we found out the appropriate length that would be suitable and
efficient for both us and our audience being around 5-7 minutes.

3. 2. Don’t add Clichés
There are many clichés in short films. Avoid stereotypes unless you
have a fresh slant on them. That’s what The Descendent does. In this
short film a couple of bewildered hit men actually have to kill a
seemingly cute little boy and one of them gets cold feet until he
realizes that the child is a supernatural being who terrifies his mother.
Write what you’re familiar with and what resonates with you rather
than writing something you borrowed from other films. Don’t shy
away from small stories, short formats are the perfect vehicle for them
and you won’t often get the opportunity to tell small stories as a
professional writer.
It’s good to watch as many short films as possible. There is no
replacement for knowing what is out there, and knowing what you as
an audience (as well as a writer) think and feel about it. When
proposing ideas for my own film I often opted to watching other short
films of similar genre so I could follow the key representations and
ideologies without being cliché.

4. 3. Perfect the narrative
Tell a Story
You should always try to tell a compelling story. Beware of ideas that are
concept-driven or just aim at breaking all the rules for the sake of breaking
rules. Short films are a great opportunity to push the boundaries of what
cinematic storytelling can do, yet they must still engage your audience
emotionally. As a rule of thumb, unless it is extremely brief a short film
should have a hero with a goal and an obstacle/antagonist in the way. Short
films are also a great away to advertise certain topics for educational value,
you can use these topics e.g. bullying to base the narrative around the subject
you want to inform the viewer about.
When producing my own short film I will constantly be using the same aspect
as Vladimir props narrative theory e.g. the villain being our protagonist’s
illness

5. 4. Balance dialog to action
Make It Visual
“Film is a visual medium”. “Show, don’t tell.” Those are the golden rules
of screenwriting the top directors keep telling us. Yet it’s astonishing to
see how talky most scripts are. Film is about telling stories in pictures,
which is the most economical way of telling a story – and when you
make a short film, economy is everything. Create visual backstories for
your characters. Externalize through visual images their temperament,
their profession, their status, etc. Some of the most effective of short
films are the ones with little to no dialog.
It is also very important that you need to beware of the concept that
too much action can take place in not a enough time which ultimately
becomes expensive but also less effective and you loose the audience’s
attention.

6. 5. Don’t ruin the single moment
The best short films are often a single moment that is played
out, but one that has a story at its heart, which is a conflict
that has to be resolved, where there’s a dilemma at stake
and a choice that the protagonist has to make. Strive to add
a deadline, or ticking clock. It is not necessary but it will add
some tension to your short film. For example in my own
short film suspense is created by silence.

7. 6. Don’t loose the viewers
Engage
Since you have so little time to make an impression the impact of scene
one is crucial, just as it is crucial to hook the reader in the first couple of
pages in a book. What is the world of the film? Do we root for the main
character? Does the world and story of the film feel authentic? The
ending is also essential as it’s rare to truly feel moved at the end of a
short, so work towards a meaningful, satisfying ending.
For instance although its inevitable that the main character at some
stage is going to pass away we do not sadden this issue at the end of the
film but actually create a satisfying ending by having her fulfill her only
wish.

8. 7. The audience can’t see
Lighting
There is nothing worse than when you watch a film and you
cant actually see what’s taking place, this often occurs when
a dramatic dark scene isn't properly executed and you cant
actually see what’s going on in scene. To avoid this plan your
lighting in correlation to the setting, mood and the amount
of natural lighting that is present either due to the weather
or time of day and most importantly your narrative. Lighting
is great in either uplifting mood in a certain shot but also to
emphasise emotion and sadness, try taking test shots before
shooting so you don’t have to retake any shots which is
eating valuable filming and editing time.

9. 8. The audience can’t hear
Sound
Sound is crucial it explains feelings, thoughts and views
which is why its so important that you get the right balance
between not being too quiet and not too loud. When sound
is too quiet and you up the volume it can automatically
sound crackly and inconsistent. Before shooting have a
sound check to test the volume and accuracy of where it
needs to be placed in order for the dialog to sound clear, it
is very easy to ruin the film by having inconsistent sound.